If I got Super Mario Kart, there's no way I'd turn it down.

The thing is, although this was the case in the past, there's nothing to prove that it will continue to happen in the future. I can't believe that those that I've seen turn away from Nintendo consoles over the past 2-3 years or so ever turning back.

First Call of Duty is not Hardcore nor Core it's Casual why just like PS3 and 360 gamers say because kids play Wii then kids play CoD make it casual.
Nintendo will always be on top why mobile is not a console or tablets. Wii U will have 50-80% of Wii owners and 10-50% of Core Gamers not so-call Hardcore gamer cause there is no such thing as Hardcore gamer.

Those who don't know what Nintendo is or do will never understand why their games are on the top best selling 100 games on here. I understand what your saying but you can't judge Wii U nor Wii until the Wii is discontinued then decide whether Wii will make Wii U successful. Then Wii U is discontinue by the time Nintendo 9th Generation console is release then make you statement.

sorry about second post

I agree with most of this anaysis, but Call of Duty didn't become popular because of "3rd party propaganda" : CoD is (was? see BF3) an excellent game that appeals to teenage and older audiences much more than Nintendo's games do.

The Xenoblade/Operation Rainfall fiasco is the ultimate proof that Nintendo doesn't want to make any serious effort towards the core audience. As a result, HD software will put Ninty's line-up to shame this Xmas, making 2011 the year of Nintendo's fall. Can WiiU compete with cheaper PS3 and X360, let alone possible new systems? As far as we now it stands no chance.

Okay.

So you loved Nintendo, and knew how the industry treated it. Suddenly, you forgot all of it and you pretend Nintendo is casual and that there is even the slightest chance of them going multiplat.

I am deciding if this really is a joke thread or not.

If it is, I have to give radishhead props for acting so serious about it.

If Nintendo does not return to the top, it will have NOTHING to do with "hardcore" games or gamers, and everything to do with Nintendo's own stubbornness to continue to produce games that will appeal to a mass audience. They did this during the DS and early Wii era or 2004 - 2009, but reverted back to their ways of creating niche games the past couple years, which is why they have fallen back to the bottom again. If anything, Nintendo trying to go the "hardcore" route (which they are now), will be what leads to their downfall.

Most people thought the same way you do during the Gamecube era, and that Nintendo did not posess the ability to return to dominance. Well, we all know how that turned out. The Wii was a sales beast and shattered all kinds of sales recordes, even with no HD support and virtually EVERY third party developer not supporting them. Nintendo proved they very much hold the ability to not only be on top, but to completely dominate the gaming industry at will. The question is will they want to? Most will say of course they will, but for some reason Nintendo is once again content with creating only games THEY want to create, which are usually niche games, even at the expense of low sales.They need to go back to creating more games that go outside the box and draw in an expanded gaming audience that is otherwise shunned and ignored by the rest of the industry, more games like Brain Age, NSMB, Mario Kart Wii, Wii Sports, Wii Fit, etc, and less games liks Metroid: Other M, Fire Emblem, Sin and Punishment, etc..

The only thing that will stand in the way of Nintendo is Nintendo.

Nintendo are doing juuust fine.

I find statements like this one kind of funny, mostly because I think most people don't really use the term "casual gamer" negatively except for nerds on messageboards; in fact, most people don't know what the term "casual gamer" even means. You're not going to impress anyone in real life by declaring "I'm a hardcore gamer!", in fact most people will probably look at you like you have a mental illness.

I think most people see things the opposite of you, the Wii is either the first Nintendo home console they ever owned, or the first since the SNES/NES that they owned.

Gamecube was largely seen as a console that catered only to children, and personally, I didn't know anyone except children who owned a Gamecube. I am not saying that there weren't games that appealed to adult audiences too, it is just that the wide perception was that Gamecube and Nintendo home consoles were for kids only. That perception only evaporated when the Wii came out.